Your alarm is blaring. Your head is pounding. You think, “I should call out today.” But wait! It’s a storytime day. Think of canceling on all those kids eager for songs and stories. What will you do? If you’ve ever had a morning like this, you aren’t alone, and you probably work in a small library without substitutes to save the day. When I started at my library, I was the sole children’s services staff member and ran multiple weekly storytimes. When I was sick, we canceled. Life went on, I healed up, and I saw those families the next week. As I’ve learned more about library operations, I’ve seen how some libraries go out of their way to avoid canceling storytime. If not well planned, this can quickly lead to subpar programs, staff working while sick, unfairly compensated labor, and spiraling scope creep. So today, I present the case…
Tag: Scheduling
Making Your Schedule Work for You in the New Year
We’re all in the same boat it seems—looming piles of professional reading that you’ll get to “someday,” schedules to create for staff and for upcoming programs—that sometimes it feels like there is too much to get done and not enough of you to go around! Over the past decade in Children’s Services, especially when I’ve been managing a branch or a citywide program, I have definitely felt this way. So I would like to share two quick tips that I’ve found to be really helpful when I’ve felt like I’m on a treadmill going too fast that I can’t get off. The To Do List vs. Scheduling Appointments (spoiler alert—I’m pro scheduling appointments) We all have a to-do list, right? And there is always that one thing (or more than one thing) that somehow seems to always be on the list week after week. As much as I love procrastination,…
Storytime Schedules
I’ve written some thoughts on storytime schedules before. While I didn’t have any answers, ultimately I ended the blog with how I was willing to change my storytime schedules to benefit my patrons. This month, I made a list of the decisions the library has made after considering our patrons needs/requests. There are more than listed (especially when the library shares its two programming rooms with a variety of inside and outside groups), but these are the things that patrons frequently thank us for: Having a combination of both registration storytimes and drop-in storytimes. All of the events with the small circle “R” are registration. The others are drop-ins. Providing each age group with at least two day choices during the week. We do our best to alternate this between M/W/F and T/R because of preschool options. Scheduling our “on our own” preschool storytime (Junior Genius) at the same time…
Scheduling That Won’t Keep You Up at Night: Making the Most of Google Drive
Scheduling: it’s one of the most annoying (and perhaps one of the most important) responsibilities children’s services managers have. From making sure storytimes and book groups are organized to providing adequate coverage for desk time to finding time to do outreach visits into the local community, managers must plan carefully, work around scheduled staff vacations, and deal with unplanned absences. One free and easy way to track programs, staff schedules, and vacation requests is by using Google Drive applications. Users need only register for a free Gmail account to get started. One Calendar to Rule Them All Google Calendar allows you to create multiple mini-calendars, differentiated by color, in one interface. At the Darien Library, for example, head of children’s services Claire Moore uses Google Calendar to track staff schedules, vacation requests, and staff meetings in purple; registered storytimes and after-school programs in red; drop-in programs in light green; school…